Earlier this month, we reported that Ferrari was already preparing a new exhaust system for their F10 – to be debuted as early as this weekend's race at Valencia – sourced from the one used by Red Bull Racing. The RB6 features a low-mounted exhaust system, which helps the airflow travel more efficiently into the rear diffuser, therefore increasing the downforce level.
The new system is believed to cut more than half of second per lap, and will reportedly be copied by Mercedes GP, McLaren Mercedes and Renault within weeks. Following their consecutive 1-2 finishes in Turkey and Canada, McLaren Mercedes are reportedly preparing a major update of their own for Silverstone, where the new exhausts are believed to make it to the MP4-25.
“We have a reasonably big upgrade that we are fighting to have for Silverstone, and if that is there then I would be disappointed if it is not a much bigger step than that,” said McLaren's team principal Martin Whitmarsh recently, hinting that the new exhausts will be only one of several new elements to feature on the MP4-24 in Great Britain.
On the other hand, Mercedes GP's CEO Nick Fry also admitted that his team is working at full speed to develop an efficient F-duct system and a new exhaust system, only he did not supply the media with a timeline for those two updates.
“If we can get both of those things on the car then we'll be in a lot better position,” said Fry, while Mercedes GP team boss Ross Brawn admitted that plenty of teams are considering Red Bull's exhaust system for their future updates this season.
According to some voices from within the paddock, Renault is also preparing a similar concept for their exhausts, although we're not sure when this will be available on the R30 this season.
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